1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of children's educational and development devices. In particular the invention relates to toilet training devices for children. Certain aspects of the invention also have applicability for use in adult toilet seats.
2. Description of the Related Technology
One of the milestones that a child passes when growing older is becoming potty trained. Part of the process of potty training is learning how to use adult bathroom facilities. In order to assist a child in the learning process, a number of products have been developed to help encourage and assist a child in using adult toilet and other bathroom facilities. The assignee of this invention, Munchkin, Inc. has developed and sold a number of such products, one of which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,631,370 to Dunn et al.
Some types of toilet training devices are designed to be placed directly upon either the rim or seat of an adult toilet. Other types of such devices resemble a miniature adult toilet and have a collection chamber, sometimes having a collection bag or liner, defined therein for holding urine, feces and wipes.
When acclimating a small child to the use of an adult toilet or potty seat, it is desirable to place both the child and the caregiver at ease to the extent possible, and to make the child as comfortable as possible. A child who is transitioning away from diapers is often used to being wiped and cleaned with moist wipes. Toilet paper may feel uncomfortable for such a child, and this could potentially erode the child's enthusiasm for the toilet training process. A caregiver, however, may forget to pack wipes when traveling with a potty seat. Even in the home, packages of wipes may be misplaced. In addition, it is often difficult to position a package of wipes within easy reach of the child or the caregiver during toilet training. Accordingly, a toilet training device that would make it easier for a child or caregiver to conveniently access wipes while the child is on the potty seat would represent an improvement over conventional toilet training devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,779,489 to Finell discloses a step stool potty bench that has a plurality of storage areas that may be used for containing materials such as wipes, toilet paper or baby powder. However, this is not a practical solution for storing individual wipes, because they will lose their moistness within a short period of time. In addition, the storage compartments that are provided in the Finell potty bench are not of the proper size and shape to receive an entire container of wipes. Even if a container of wipes happened to have a size and shape permitting it to fit within one of the compartments, the dispensing opening would not necessarily be easily accessible to the child or the caregiver.
Odors can also be a concern during toilet training. Toilet training seats that have storage compartments for urine and feces can be a significant source of odor, particularly in instances when they are not immediately and feet and cleaned by the caregiver. To the extent that odors can be minimized by absorption or masking, the toilet training process can be made more enjoyable for both the child and the caregiver. There are a number of examples of deodorizing systems for use with adult toilets, but these would not necessarily be appropriate for use with a toilet training system. A plethora of household devices for masking or absorbing odors also exist, but many of them are not readily transportable when traveling or safe to be within the reach of a small child.
A need exists for an improved toilet training device that provides convenient access to moist wipes for the child and the caregiver. A need also exists for an improved toilet training device that helps control odors in a manner that is convenient and safe for a small child.